Us
by Andorian Ice Princess-AIP
Summary: No matter what happens Mac, all of us are in this together. There was never a doubt Stella. Never a doubt about 'us'. SMACKED One-Shot. Based on & some spoilers from eppy 6.23 Vacation Getaway


**Title: Us**

**Summary:** No matter what happens Mac, all of us are in this together. There was never a doubt Stella. Never a doubt about 'us'. SMACKED One-Shot. Based on & some spoilers from eppy 6.23 Vacation Getaway

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Mac Taylor but I wish I did (course then I'd have no time for writing)! You know the rest write (grin)?

**A/N: **First of all A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that had heard about my very sad news on the weekend and sent kind wishes, prayers, PM's, FB notes, tweets and the like. I can't thank you enough and say I appreciate your kindness enough. Truly humbled and touched by it. SO THANK YOU! And with those recent sad events I wasn't sure I would have been able to get this done, but I know my friend, who loved SMACKED as much as me (hmm is that possible? Lol), almost as much as me always, loved to read these right after the eppy so am doing in their honor. Sorry it's a bit late but I did struggle with this one and hope it came out okay (gosh am nervous about this one guys!). A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who liked these, read and reviewed. You all made staying up until the wee hours of the morning worth it and the almost fully revived muse sends out a HUGE HUG and THANKS to you all. SMACKED ROCKS and so do you all! Hope you like this last one.

_~Dedicated to MFT. This one is for you. I love you and miss you so much. RiP~_

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_'Shane Casey has escaped!'_

"Did you notice anything else you liked at the museum?" Stella inquires.

_'He's after Danny!'_

"Might be kinda nice to go sometime when work isn't involved or we aren't chasing a deranged killer."

_'GET HIM!'_

"How about an exhibit with me naked? Would you like that?"

"What?" I ask weakly, looking at my partner with a slight frown.

"Well it got you to stop pacing," she replies kindly. "Come and sit by me."

"Stella..."

"Mac this your home, remember?"

"_My home?" _I arch my brows.

"You like the sound of _our home _better?" Stella challenges with a smile.

"I do. Don't you?"

"I do. I Have ever since you called it our home a few months ago. And since we are our home sweet home Mac, come and sit with me. Your pacing is driving me crazy. Why are you pacing anyways?"

"Force of habit after a case like this. It's raining out side and I don't want to go for a run; pacing...it just helps."

"I'll have to remember that."

"One of the many right?" I inquire.

"Yes that is right. One of the many things I love about you Mac," Stella retorts and I just smile. "Well I think the image of Shane Casey falling out that window onto the sideswalk onto the body of that dead officer will haunt me for some time to come. Or then him disappearing behind the bus. Or the knowledge that his unfinished business meant trying to take the life of one of our team."

"I know...I know," I huff as I finally head back to the couch and slowly ease myself down beside Stella's warm body. "Are you sure you don't want to pace?"

"I lost my anxiety watching you," she tells me and I just smirk.

"Okay."

"Just relax Mac," she soothes as her hands put down the cup of coffee I had made us after the amazing dinner she made us and start to gently massage my shoulders.

"Feels...good," I praise as I close my eyes allowing my mind to drift to the events leading up to this.

Even now, I remember watching Shane Casey escape before my eyes, and then finding the clues telling us he was targeting Danny and then leading us to the Lighthouse for the final showdown. As I sat in that helicopter my mind and heart were racing. I know what Casey is capable of; he's a man without regard for any human life and the Messer clan hanging in the balance. What if he kills Lindsay? Danny? God forbid Lucy? But Casey was a man without morals or human decency and I knew that time was not on our side; not for any of us.

"Talk to me Mac. Casey or someone else?"

"Danny actually. I remember the look in Danny's eyes when he asked for some time off. He said that Casey was now in custody and everything was okay and that their time off was long overdue."

"Mac you couldn't have known," Stella insists as I near, slowly easing my weary frame into the hard plastic chair beside her. "None of us could have known it would turn out like this."

"I should have said no."

"Mac..."

"I SHOULD HAVE said no!" I shout in haste, and then quickly recant. "Sorry."

"Why? I'm just as pissed as you about all this. But it's over right? It's over and they are safe."

"Then how come I can't let it go this time. How come I'm the emotional one and you're the calm one right now?"

"A little role reversal?" Stella arches a brow and my face softens a little.

"I suppose."

"Ah so you like a little role reversal then Mac Taylor? How about me being in charge for once?"

"Are you trying to lighten the mood?" I inquire with a slight twice of my lips.

"In our home?" Stella smiles. "Is it working?"

"Sort of," I tell her with a heavy sigh as my fingers slowly intertwine with hers, my heart rate begging my brain to help it slow down a little. I lean back in the couch and close my eyes, my mind starting to drift as my body starts to loosen. Her fingers gently start to tease the tense skin of my hand, my heart rate continuing to slow my mind delighting in the chemical bond that we share in even the slightest connection of skin on skin; her fingers slowly trailing up my bare arm. However as I allow my mind to wander a bit further my breathing starts to shallow and my stomach tighten.

"Mac? What is it? Your fist just tightened," Stella notes in a low tone, forcing my eyes to open at once.

"Hate feeling helpless."

"Helpless?"

"Should have seen it coming."

"What do you mean?"

"Casey being alone with that officer? No bars?"

"Still bothers you," she sighs. "You couldn't have known that Mac."

"How about being unable to track them down at first? Or Casey taking out the only other man that could help us?"

"Okay Mac you have good reason to fret, you don't have to convince me."

"I know. Just hate not being able to foresee something like this. I mean we knew this guy."

"I was just as scared and angry as you when Casey fell through that window and then all the clues added up to him going after Danny. But they are fine now," Stella mentions warmly, her body pressed into mine, her fingers leaving their place in the palm of my hand to tenderly rub my back. "Come here Mac. Come here and just let it all go. Surrender to me," Stella entreats as she pulls me back into her warm embrace. Our romantic love has been simmering for the past few years but finally coming to a boiling point a few months back; when I took Stella to one of the shelters I volunteer at and confessed my love to her, something I should have done long ago.

We'd hit a few snags up to now, most recently Peyton's return but neither of us allowed even an emotional hurdle as big as that one to interfere with our future plans and stunt what we both were helping to grow. In the past year, I've opened up more to Stella in a personal way than in the ten years leading up to now. Christmas stories, racing stories, teenage stories; things that I wouldn't want to share with anyone else, certainly no other woman that I have had in my life. Only Stella. Us.

I open my eyes and look at Stella with a warm smile.

"Want a refill?" I ask.

"Won't keep you up?" She arches a brow and my face warms; her hand on my thigh.

"Extra energy," I state in haste.

"Ah, in that case I'll gladly get a refill for each of us. But do you want to come with me?" She invites as her hand extends for me to take.

"How could I ever say no to you."

I take Stella's hand and return a smile as we both head into my kitchen to get a few coffee refills. I dump my coffee bits into the sink and lean against the counter; Stella pressing up against me, adding instant warmth to my weary frame.

"Just breathe Mac," Stella instructs as her hand starts to rub my back once again. She rubs my back a bit longer before her fingers slowly start to climb up to the nape of my neck and start to tease some dark strands. She leans in closer, her soft cheek now pressed up against mine, her perfect lips emitting a sigh almost as tired as my own.

"You sound tired Stella."

"I guess today took a lot out of me as well. Maybe I should have been pacing also. Got any ideas on how to wear off this tension?"

"A few ideas."

"Tell me Mac, please?"

With her soft pleading words, I slowly turn around and take her into my arms and hold her close, delighting in the added feeling of warmth her body is forcing mine to experience. It's comforting; like we were always meant to be this close together; sharing this moment; enjoying this setting.

"Thats a start Mac," she rewards my efforts as she guides my lips back to hers. But as soon as I try to stifle a small yawn, she looks at me and I want more than anything to return a large, eager smile, but am only able to reward her with a slight smirk and tired frown.

"Sorry."

"You should be," she counters and I arch my brows in wonder. Her face brightens with an end to end smile and I can't help but feel my own lips starting to curl.

"Am I not allowed to worry about my team after a case like this?"

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't worry about those you care about Mac, that's in your nature and one of the things I love about you."

"But..." I urge.

"But Casey can't hurt anyone any longer right? He's dead Mac. He's gone. And no matter what happens in the future you know all of us will face whatever it is as a team; all of us. You know that right?"

"Us?"

"Us. You, me, the team," she confirms as she leans in closer, brushing my lips with hers. "You can't fail us Mac, you don't know how to," she tells me and at once I am reminded of just how much and another reason why I love this woman more than anything.

"I love you Stella," I utter softly.

"I love you too Mac. This team is amazing. We have been through so much, even in the past year and a bit. And while we might have faltered a few times, we never fell beyond the reach of the team. We have helped each other through so much and this will be no different. If they have nightmares when so will we until they are no more."

"When I was in that helicopter...watching Danny fighting on that lighthouse..." my voice trails off. "It could have gone so many ways but our way."

"I remember Lindsay shaking and trembling as we watched from the ground; Lucy in her arms. She could have lost her husband just like that. Trust me Mac, I'm glad they're not alone tonight and neither are we."

"You'll never be alone Stella. Just glad it worked out for them. It's hard when the past comes back to haunt us."

"Events or people?" Stella wonders.

"Both."

"Mac?"

"Nothing Stella," I answer in haste; her facial expression showing me one of disbelief.

"Talk to me Mac."

"Just a few things Danny said that he and Casey talked about in the lighthouse; things about the past, the guilt and hatred that Casey was still carrying around. Just um...well he got closure. Casey is dead now. It's finally over."

"Closure is important. And he can never hurt them again," Stella insists. "Just like I'll never let anyone hurt you again, we'll never let anyone hurt them again."

"I like the sound of that."

"You almost sound uncertain."

"I never want to take anything for granted Stella. I think today has shown us once again just how fragile life can be. I mean in the blink of an eye it could all be gone; something you love or worked so hard to build. I just never want to take us for granted."

"And I love you for that Mac, because I know you never will."

We stand locked in each other's embrace for what seems like a small quiet eternity, both of us trying to drown out the noises in the background noise outside, horns honking, the frantic sirens and the regular din of New Yorkers at night. Stella's fingers come to rest against my face, prompting me to momentarily close my eyes for a few blissful seconds. When I open them, I lean in closer and brush her lips with mine.

"I never want to lose you Stella."

"You never will Mac, I promise us is guaranteed."

I know she can't promise me that for sure, as no one would have ever foreseen today's events coming, much less been able to stop fate from thinking it had the last laugh. But I know I can promise her that nothing of my own personal doing is going to send her away; at least that's what I keep telling myself each and every day. I am blessed to have this amazing woman in my life and in my heart. I would be dead if I ever lost her.

"Come on Mac, let's just go back to that soft couch and relax. Unless you are planning on going out again tonight?" She arches her brows and I can't help but smirk.

"Not planning on ever leaving."

"This apartment?"

"Well Danny and Lindsay spent the rest of their vacation in the...what was it you said? The confines of their own home?"

"Home sweet home Mac? Mmmm like the sound of you as my prisoner here."

"Think you'd like that?"

"Think you would?"

"I know I would," I tell her in truth and then kiss her before she can utter another word; her mouth offering a slight chuckle as we fill our cups and head back into the living room. We slump down into the soft folds of my sofa, both of us emitting a heavy sigh.

"I would like that very much Mac. Some real down time alone with you; just us."

"Well we do have some time off you know."

"You have like a whole year," Stella reminds me as she leans in closer; her lips nearing mine. "Want to take off a whole year?"

"Well I was thinking more of just a few days; a weekend possibly. Think that is doable?"

"I would like that very much and yes it is very doable," Stella repeats and it's my turn to return a soft chuckle. "In fact let's start right now."

"Okay."

Her lips press against mine once more; a heated kiss that we know, since we are in the safe confines of our home is going to end with another blissful union and that is more than anticipated and wanted. But a few moments later I break the mood and pull back, looking at her with a wondering expression; my mind now pondering something else.

"What are you thinking about Mac? Danny?" Stella asks in haste.

"Actually something Don said that Jessica said."

"About Danny?"

"About us."

"Us?" Stella arches a brow. "What did he say about us?"

"Just that she had said to him that she figured us right from day one."

"Smart girl," Stella squeezes my fingers. "I wonder whoever gave her that idea."

"Don?"

"Ha," Stella smirks.

"Danny?"

"He wishes. Try again."

"Lindsay?"

"No."

"Lucy?" I ask weakly and she just pokes my side in jest.

"Anyone else Mac?"

"You?"

I look at Stella in shock. So it wasn't just Don being intuitive? It wasn't just his now deceased girlfriend's insight into the romantic patterns of men and women? Stella had been purporting this all along? For being head CSI there are still some things that I am blind to; my own love life almost being one of them. That is until I realized how precious the woman in my arms is and now that I have told her how much I love her, I intend to keep on doing that for as long as I am granted.

"One more try Mac," Stella whispers in my ear.

"Us Stella?" I ask softly.

"Us Mac," she replies as her fingers tighten around mine and our eyes lock in warm union of sapphire and emerald. "As it always has been and always will be; for everyone to know."

"I love you Stella," I whisper in her ear, my lips sending small shiver bumps down her perfect skin.

"I love you too Mac," she whispers in return; her warm breath returning the favor and forcing me to feel shivers down to my toes.

"Come here," I whisper as I slowly place my coffee mug on the floor beside us, take Stella's and put it on the table adjacent to her right arm and pull her into my strong embrace, my arms wrapping around her tightly and holding her perfect body against mine. Stella leans in closer, her lips silencing my next words as she utters one more word before she hungrily devours my mouth with hers, our bodies being flooded with warm passion.

_"Us."_

It's what was always meant to be. _Us_ will prove to the world that we need nothing else. _Us_ will prove that we are able to withstand just about any test, time and fate can throw at us. _Us_ will prove to our team and the world around us that love can overcome even the most insurmountable odds and lifes bleakest moments. _Us _had been decided long ago by me and Stella; now the rest of the world just needs to catch up.

**THE END!**

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**A/N**: Well the first eppy one shot I did for this season was entitled '_We_' and it was Stella's thoughts on how the season started and now this ends with Mac's thoughts on how the season ended and finishes off the 'Us' as we all know SMACKED are meant to be.

This of course precludes the end, which I think is a dream. Remember to stop by my SMACKED season 6 forum (yes season 7 is already created and waiting to go) and post your final thoughts on this eppy or season 6 in review.

I had a lot of fun (well for the most part) writing these this season and hope you liked them all just as much. Here's hoping for a lot MORE SMACKED in season 7 and no A or P or any other 'twilight' references! I mean Mac's only choice is Stella! GO SMACKED! If you'd like me to do these again in season 7 please let me know in your final review and thanks so much for reading these!


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